1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to an improved flaked ice maker capable of depositing ice into bins that are substantially above the ice maker. Specifically, the present invention provides a flaked ice maker that pushes flaked ice upward through a tube without the need for an auger.
2. Prior Art.
There are many existing types of flaked ice making machines. Generally, when flaked ice is made by a screw-type machine, as it breaks into ice flakes, it falls to the side and downwardly from the machine. The extruding head breaks the ice into flakes in a radially outward direction. Often an ice sweep brushes the pieces of flaked ice to one side where they may fall down a chute or directly into a bin. Several different designs have been developed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,551, issued on Feb. 7, 1984 to Hizume discloses an extrusion head for an auger type ice maker whose bosses extend downward over the topmost portion of the auger. The design is intended to prevent choking of crushed ice that is pushed up over the top of the extrusion head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,622, issued on Aug. 28, 1984 to Takahashi et al. discloses an extrusion head specifically designed to form shaved ice of superior quality. The channels of the extrusion head formed by its bosses each contain a small slit or channel that allows air to escape from the ice. This prevents excessive cooling of the ice and forms harder shaved ice particles. This patent also contemplates the use of a standard method of breaking the ice bars into shaved ice chips.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,173, issued on May 3, 1988 to Neumann discloses an extrusion head having modified fins or bosses designed to prevent the ice column from rotating within the extrusion apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,679 issued on May 5, 1992 to Hida discloses an auger type ice making machine having multiple blades above the extrusion head for breaking the ice rods into shaved ice pieces. The blades are adjustable so that the size of the shaved ice pieces may be readily adjusted. The blades rotate at the same speed as the auger and the size of the ice pieces is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,300 issued on Mar. 30, 1993 to Sakamoto et al. discloses an auger type ice making machine. The patent was developed by Hoshizaki. The device disclosed in this patent has an extrusion head that bobs, or oscillates, in an up and down motion. It is intended to convey some of the load applied to the extrusion head by the auger to a cam device located above the extrusion head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,014 issued on Oct. 24, 1995 to Wang discloses an auger type ice making machine that has a unique auger-within-an-auger design. As with the other patents, this patent discloses the use of an annular flange to break apart the ice rods. The novelty of this patent lies in increasing the efficiency of heat transfer from the water to the FREON coolant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,749 issued on Jun. 15, 1999 to Sugie discloses an auger-type ice maker. This patent is also owned by the Hoshizaki company. The patent discloses a specially designed boss for the formation of ice forming channels about the extrusion head. The lower end of the boss is curved in such a way as to prevent over compression of the ice. This reduces the back load on the auger, thereby increasing efficiency of the machine.
All of the designs in the prior art show machines that only extrude ice radially outward and the ice has been collected and pushed to one side and optionally downward. This has a number of disadvantages. The ice maker must be at the same height as or above the ice bin. This means that if an ice maker is low to the ground, so is the bin into which it dispenses ice. Persons retrieving ice from the bin must then bend over and this increases the difficulty of acquiring ice. In addition, ice at the bottom of the bin is rarely removed because ice is taken out of the bin from the top and therefore the freshest ice is the first removed. Ice bins that are elevated must have ice makers that are also elevated. It is common to place ice makers above ice bins. Because ice makers are very heavy, this poses a danger. In earthquake prone regions, such as California, laws require that heavy objects such as ice makers be firmly attached to a wall. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is both difficult and expensive to securely attach an ice maker to a wall.
Ice makers that are relatively far above the ground are also difficult to maintain and repair. Maintenance workers often must use a ladder to reach the ice maker. The danger is usually worsened by the fact that ice makers are typically in high volume traffic areas.
When ice machines are not properly maintained, they may freeze up. This may cause an ice machine to shake or shutter violently. If the ice machine is elevated, it may fall. This is an additional danger, especially in high volume traffic areas.
In addition, small amounts of chlorine gas evaporate out of crushed ice as it is present in the water typically used. When the ice machine is located above the bin, a chlorine gas may oxidize various components of the ice making machine.
Ice making machines require routine maintenance. This often involves cleaning the machine components with various chemicals. When the ice maker is located above an ice bin, these chemicals may leak into the ice bin.
It is therefore desirable to provide an ice maker that is located beneath an ice bin and may dispense ice upward without the need of an auger.
The only existing methods for moving flaked ice upward has been to use an auger. However, augers tend to compact ice and jam. Use of an auger also adds cost to the ice machine and increases the amount of maintenance required.